Marion community celebrates return of gym/community center

While it is always a joyful experience to find yourself in church, surrounded by friends and neighbors, last Sunday was even more full of joy for the congregation of the Second Reformed Church of Marion. Following a two year “void” of their community building, due to the its collapse in February 2011, community members joined the congrgagtion to fundraise and rebuild the facility.

The Second Reformed Church in Marion, dedicated its new Gymnasium and Youth Center on Sunday (June 23rd) to the utter joy of, not only the congregation, but many who cared enough to help and encourage its rebuilding.

In the back lot of the church, sat a building which housed a gym and community center, until the fateful day in February of 2011, when snow and ice caused the roof of the 60+ year old building to collapse without warning.

No one was hurt in the collapse, but children playing in the gym moments before were saved any harm. The building that had been owned by the church since the 1970s, and was originally a storage building for Seneca Foods.

“What a day, what a day, what a day,” said Pastor Donald White from the building’s new stage. “It is like a dream coming true,” he told the crowd.

“We give thanks for our community leaders and first responders as well as for those people who sent us donations to rebuilt.”
Church leaders credit the congregation and the community for the hard work and dedication that it took to bring this building back to life.

“It was my heart’s desire that we would see this facility rebuilt,” said building chairman Michael Davis. “There were once five churches in our community. Now there are only two,” said Davis. “If we had not rebuilt it would have been a great loss to the community for all the activities this facility provided.”

Pastor White felt that the Lord was saying the church and congregation are here to stay in Marion.